British economy is in top ten list of countries facing flood risk

The British economy is more vulnerable than that of any other nation to the effects of 'extra-tropical cyclones', the name given to the storms that have battered the country over recent weeks.

The findings comes from Maplecroft, the Bath-based global risk analysts, who claim the storms are the most operationally disruptive and costly natural hazard facing northern Europe.

And the company's analysts say that the UK’s economic output has the world’s highest exposure to extra-tropical cyclones, followed by Norway, Russia, Sweden and the US.

Maplecroft’s findings are illustrated by the recent succession of extra-tropical cyclones that have battered the UK’s coastal defences, damaged transport infrastructure and flooded large swathes of England.

While putting a precise figure on the costs of the recent storms is difficult, the Environment Agency has estimated that 175,000 commercial properties are at risk across England and Wales, while Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, suggests the UK’s economy will suffer in the near-term.

"Predictions for the UK suggest climate change is likely to boost the frequency of major storms and increase risks to economic output as a result of flooding," said Dr Richard Hewston, principal environment analyst at Maplecroft.

While Maplecroft ranks the UK as 42nd most at risk for physical exposure to flooding, the country’s high population density and the proximity of commercial centres, private property and infrastructure to areas susceptible to flooding means its total non-agricultural economic exposure to flooding is the 7th highest globally.

"The future scale of the problem will depend heavily on the government continuing to build resilience and apply resources through flood mitigation and risk management schemes," said Dr Richard Hewston.

In Maplecroft’s Natural Hazard Risks – Absolute Economic Exposure Index, which factors in non-agricultural economic exposure to hydro-meteorological and geophysical hazards, including seismic risks and tropical cyclones, Japan, US, Taiwan, China, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Italy, Australia and Indonesia make up the ten countries facing the highest total financial costs from natural hazards, while the UK is ranked 16th most at risk.

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